Wooden heel



4, 1937. M. A. COME AU 2,090,974

WOODEN HEEL Filed July 9, 1936 enl'or: .Mfilb fl.6'omeau, by M6 WM ing a depression formed in the top Patented Aug. 24, 1937 install,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,090,974 WOODEN HEEL Melburn A. Comeau Haverhill, Mass. Application July 9, 1936, Serial No. 89,750

18 Claims.

This invention relates to turned wooden heels and the method of making the same, the object of the invention being the production of a heel reinforced at the top, and the sides of which are adapted to receive a suitable finish, the breast of the heel being protected during the application of said finish.

This object is attained by the construction of heels in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, one preferred form thereof is illustrated in the drawing, this form having been found to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and the invention eneral *quently this causes considerable waste of material and also the loss of time of the operators. This waste and loss of materials adds to the cost of the heels which are properly turned and can be usedfl a Y -One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple but effective method of reinforcing "the upper edge of the heel by securing thereto a wear-resisting material. Preferably this wear-resisting-material is applied to the heel after it has been turned and concaved.

shown and described except as required by the scope of the appended claims.

Of the drawing Figure 1 represents a perspective of a block after it has been turned from the block and show- 'of the side walls thereof back of said breast.

FigureS represents a vertical section of said heel on line 3, 3 on Fig. 2 and showing a rein-' forcing material secured in said depression with y In the manufacture of heels inaccordance with thepresent invention, the usual block H] of wood from which the heel is to be formed is provided witlra flat upper face ll.

The sides "l2 of the block are flat as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The front of this block it is cut away to for the breast l3 of the heel: 7

After the breast l3 has been formed on the front side of the block H], a sheet of paper I 4 or some other protecting material applied thereto by means of some tacky substance-which will cause the paper to adhere to the breast l3 until it is desired to detach the same therefrom.

a narrow portion thereof extending over th t of the heel, the lower end of said reinforced material extending outwardly.

Figure 4 represents a similar view after the heel has been secured and the projecting portions of the reinforcing material removed there- I from.

v Figure 5 represents an elevation of the completed heel with its upper end reinforced by a strip of wear-resisting material and acoloring finish indicated on a portion of same.

Figure 6 represents a front elevation of the upper part of the completed heel, and

in which the reinforcing material is wholly disposed on the top of said heel.

knicked, and this is particularly true in many of the upper face of the heel.

This paper M if desired.

' The block It with the protecting paper I4 is then put into a turning machine and the heel is may extend beyond the sides I2 turned to the desired shape-as shown in Figs. 2, 3

and' l with curved sides IZar.

A shallow depression I5 is formed at the upper end of thesides E21: by cutting away a portion of the material, this being done preferably after the turning and concaving operation.

- "A strip of reinforcing material I6 is then secured in this'shallow depression'l5 with a part ll of said strip extending over and secured, to

As shown in Fig. 3 the lower edge l8 of this strip i6 extends outwardly from the shallow depression l5. Figure 7 represents a modification of said heel When this strip It has firmly adhered to the wooden heel, the heel is scoured and this operation removes the outward extension l8 of the reinforcing material It so that the outerface of this strip will be flush with the sides lZx of the p In some cases it is desirable to omit the formation of the shallow depression l5 by cutting away a portion of the material and in this case the strip is of reinforcing material is used, the strip being U-shaped in form with the outer edge thereof registering with the face of the sides I21:

of the heel in the rear of the breast l3, as shown in Fig. '7.

This strip l9 will protect the upper edge of the heel from becoming knicked or broken.

It has been found more desirable to form the 10 depression and use the strip 16 with a part I1 thereof extending over and secured to the upper face of the heel while the downward apron thereof is disposed in the depression 15 and is glued to the walls thereof.

15 When the heel has been properly turned and a concavity 2% formed in its upper end, the reinforcing and wear-resisting strips IE or 19 se cured thereto, and the outer face of the heel scoured, then a colored finish 2| is dipped or 20 sprayed over'the exposed sides of the heel, the

colored finish extending also over the outer sides of the strip 16 and forming one continuous color from the top to the bottom of the heel.

During this dipping or spraying operation the protecting covering l4 prevents any of the colored finish contacting with the breast 13 of the heel.

After the colored finish has been thoroughly dried and the heel is ready to be secured to a shoe,

the protecting covering 14 is removed from the i 0 breast of the heel, making it possible for a flap on the sole of the shoe to be extended downwardly onto the breast 13 of the heel and secured thereto.

, When the heel has been turned the forwardly 35 extending flange 22 is very thin and in order to prevent any knicking or chipping thereof a portion 23 of the strip 16 is turned under and secured to the same as indicated in Fig. 6.

As this strip I6 is formed of celluloid or some similar wear-resisting material, it will greatly strengthen the flange 22. It is believed that the operation and many advantages of the invention will be understood without further description.

' 5 Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A heel having a thin narrow U-shaped strip of rigid reinforcing material permanently secured to the top thereof with its outer edge registering with the sides of the heel at the rear of 50 the breast thereof, at which point the ends of said strip are separated from each other.

2. A heel having a shallow cut-away portion around its sides at the rear of the breast and extending to the top thereof, and a thin U-shaped 55 strip of rigid reinforcing material permanently secured in said cut-away portion with a narrow part thereof extending over and secured to the top of said heel.

3. A heel having a thin narrow U-shaped strip 60 of reinforcing material applied to the top thereof with its outer edge registering with the sides of the heel at the rear of the breast, said breast having applied thereto a temporary detachable protecting covering extending over the entire 55 surface thereof.

4. A heel having a thin narrow U-shaped strip of rigid wear-resisting material permanently secured to the top thereof with its outer edge registering with the sides of the heel at the rear of 70 the breast and its ends separated from each other and extending to said breast.

5. A heel having a shallow cut-away portion around its sides at the rear of the breast and extending to the top thereof, and a thin U-shaped 7 strip of rigid wear-resisting material permanently secured in said cut-away portion with a narrow part thereof extending over and permanently secured to the top of said heel with its ends separated from each other at said breast.

6. A heel having a reinforced upper edge and a temporary detachable protecting covering extending over the entire surface of the breast thereof and removable prior to the application of the heel to a sole.

7. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a temporary detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, and then while said covering is attached to said breast turning said block to form a heel.

8. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a temporary detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then while said covering is attached to said breast turning said block to form a heel, and then applying a colored finish to the remaining sides of said heel, said covering preventing the application of said color to the face of said breast.

9. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a temporary detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then while said covering is attached to said breast turning said block to form a heel, and then dipping or spraying a colored finish on the exposed sides of the heel and leaving the surface of the breast free of said colored finish.

10. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then turning and concaving said block to form a heel, and then applying a narrow strip of reinforcing material to the top of said heel, the outer edge of which registers with the sides of the heel at the rear of said breast.

11. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then turning and concaving said block to form a heel with a cut-away portion at the upper end of the sides at the rear of the breast, then applying a strip of reinforcing material to the cut-away portion with a. part of said strip extending over the top of the heel, and then applying a colored finish to the sides of the heel and the reinforcing material in said cut-away portion.

12. The method of making heels consistingof' forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then turning and concaving said block to form a heel with a cutaway portion at the upper end of the sides at the rear of the breast, then applying a strip of reinforcing material to the cut-away portion with a part of said strip extending over the top of the heel and the lower edge of said strip extending outwardly, then scouring the heel and removing the outwardly extending portion of said strip, and then applying a colored finish to the sides of the heel and the reinforcing material in said cut-away portion.

13. The method of making heels consisting of forming on a block a breast of required shape, applying a detachable protecting covering to the surface of said breast, then turning and concaving said block to form a heel with a cutaway'portio'natthe upper end of the sides at the rear of the breast, then applying a strip of reinforcing material to the cut-away portion with a part of said strip extending over the top of the heel and the lower edge of said strip extending outwardly, then scouring the heel and removing the outwardly extending portion of said strip, then applying a colored finish to the sides of the heel and the reinforcing material in said cut-away portion, and then removing the protecting covering from said breast.

14. A heel having a cut-away portion around its sides at the rear of the breast and extending to the top thereof, and a strip of reinforcing material secured in said cut-away portion with a narrow part thereof extending over and secured to the top of the heel and other parts turned inwardly and secured to the underface of a forwardly extending flange at the top of said heel.

15. A heel having a thin narrow U-shaped strip of celluloid permanently secured to the top thereof with its outer edge registering with the sides of the heel at the rear of the breast thereof at which point the ends of said strip are separated from each other.

16. A heel having a shallow cut away portion around its sides at the rear of the breast and extending to the top thereof and a thin U-shaped strip of celluloid permanently secured in said cut away portion with the narrow part thereof extending over and permanently secured to the top of said heel.

17. A heel having a thin narrow U-shaped strip of celluloid permanently secured to the top thereof with its outer edge registering with the side of the heel at the rear of the breast and its ends separated from each other and extending to said breast.

18. A heel having a shallow cut away portion at its sides at the rear of the breast and extending to the top thereof and a U-shaped strip of celluloid permanently secured in said cut away portion with a narrow part thereof extendingover and permanently secured to the topof said heel with its ends separated from each other at 20 said breast.

MELBURN A. COMEAU. 

